As Strong as Need Be
by Goldenkizamu
Summary: After leaving Naruto at the Valley of the End, Sasuke meets a final interceptor. His old teacher gives him four hints, but will Sasuke listen to Iruka? [Note: the more you read, the more sense it makes. Do not be afraid.] Update: Epilogue, part 2 The End
1. The First Hint

As Strong as Need Be 

Chapter One:  
The First Hint

--------------

"What are you doing here, Sensei?" Sasuke's voice cracked a little, but the hostility was plain. The rain pouring down around them had muffled the footsteps of his final interceptor, one of the last people he expected to see in this place.

"You already know the answer to that question, so why do you ask?" was the distressingly calm response.

Sasuke kept walking. "I'm not going back."

"Hnn."

For a long moment there was no sound but the rain and the soft crunch of leaves underfoot. Sasuke noticed that the other man had matched the timing of his footsteps to Sasuke's own; it brought back memories of training. How many hours had they spent together in the woods while he'd learned the art of imitation from Konoha's little-known 'Master of Henge'? He'd been trying so hard to waken his Sharingan, but it had taken the fight with Haku to begin those wheels turning. Still, it had been good training for infiltration, and they would go to eat sushi together afterwards. He'd been taught how to observe, how to learn the little habits that truly sold an impersonation, how to project the proper attitude... but he hadn't been skilled enough to learn the art that made the other man the 'Master of Henge', the altering of the Chakra aura to match the outward appearance. The memory of that failure brought a thousand thoughts he'd been suppressing back to the surface of his mind.

"I'm not like you. I didn't choose him."

The first hint was the unexpected pressure on his left shin and arm; the second hint was the muddy ground rushing up to meet him; the third hint was the hand under his neck, holding him a scant few centimeters from the ground; the fourth and final hint was the disapproving "Tch." His old teacher was displeased, but not angry. It was the same thing he would do whenever he thought Sasuke was being dense.

It was embarrassing. Sasuke rolled quickly away from the gentle hand, pushing himself upright to glare at the other man. "Why yo-"

"I didn't pick him over you. You picked him over me." the other man cut him off.

The very suggestion was impossible, insulting even! "I would never pick that Dobe over you! You're the one who-" His kick was blocked, as was the follow-up palm strike. The hand that gathered his collar into a fist and lifted him off the ground wasn't as gentle as the tripping foot, but his pride was the worst wounded. He hadn't been manhandled this easily in years, had never been this weak to anyone else.

"I lifted another lonely boy from the ground onto my back." the block came with the swiftness of long practice.

"He took you away!" it was a snarl and plea, the anger of a boy betrayed.

"I never left you. You couldn't stand the sight of Naruto and I together, so you ran away. You were afraid let someone else into your heart. And that is why I am still stronger than you."

"I am stronger than you!" he managed to break the other man's grip and somersault away. "I have always been stronger than you! You are nobody!" If only he wasn't so drained of chakra, he would have gladly proved his words. How dare this lowly schoolteacher think he was stronger than the last of the great Uchiha clan? He had no special abilities other than Henge, which was an art taught to the lowliest of academy cadets! He had no bloodline, no special jutsu, nothing!

If his contempt had any effect, the other man didn't show it on his usually expressive face. He shook his head slowly, "Wrong again, Sasuke. You've become more skilled, but not any stronger."

"You're the wrong one, Iruka-Sensei." the last of Sasuke's smoke-bombs swirled around his feet, and the sound of breaking twigs spoke of as hasty a retreat as could be managed. It wasn't all that fast.


	2. Running from Memory

As Strong as Need Be 

Chapter Two:  
Running from Memory

* * *

_Faster! I have to go faster than this..._ the sound of his footsteps was too loud, too slow, too empty. He kept moving, but couldn't manage more than a relatively quick walk. The path was fairly smooth despite the mud, and he continued his mantra _Keep going... faster..._ even as the sun dipped further behind the trees.

* * *

"No, like this. Watch closer!"

"But there is no difference between the two!" he protested for the third time in an hour. His Henge no Jutsu was perfect, but Iruka-Sensei refused to accept it.

Iruka sighed, "This isn't working. Let it go." the images of Mizuki-Sensei falling away to reveal a scarred chuunin instructor and a dark haired cadet standing in the training clearing. "Sasuke, the image is perfect, but someone who knows the person well will not be deceived. You have to move like your target, speak like your target; your manner must be so convincing that any detail you lack will be filled in by the observers mind. If I looked like the Hokage but spoke in my own voice, how long would you be fooled? Your voice is only the most obvious tell, and not the hardest to counterfeit."

iYou've said this before, Sensei./i Sasuke thought, but carefully didn't say. He knew that cheek would get him less than nowhere with Umino-Sensei "I tried to do that shoulder-twitch that Mizuki-  
Sensei makes when he's bored."

"I noticed, and it was well done." Sasuke knew he'd earned every bit of the smile that spread over his teacher's face, "But... you didn't stop yourself from folding your fingers together when you leaned forward. Mizuki never does that. Come on, I have an idea."

"I hope it's better than your last idea."

"For a genius you sure whine a lot."

"I do not whine!"

"Uh-huh.", the Chuunin humored him.

They worked on observation skills for several months after that, first by cataloging the unconscious habits of one Shikamaru Nara, then of Hinata Hyuuga, then other students, and finally each other. The each wrote down the subject's habits, and for each they had noted that the other had not a point was scored. Three points would earn Sasuke a dinner at Makio's sushi bar, five points earned Iruka an hour of help at the Academy after classes.

Sasuke learned a lot about the inner workings of the Academy at first, but eventually he was earning a fair amount of Sushi. He also studied the books on acting that Iruka gave him to read, at two points per volume they contributed mightily to his sushi intake. He also slowly came to appreciate the possibilities of even the simplest Jutsu.

Eventually Sasuke was able to create a Henge that met the standard Iruka had set for him, and they'd feasted and drank watered sake at a fancy sushi restaurant in full kimono regalia. It was the best night that Sasuke had spent since his family died. They talked and laughed long into the night, the alcohol loosened Sasuke's tongue and dulled the pain that speaking of his past always brought. They spoke of happier times; of strange family traditions they wanted to continue someday, of the first Jutsu they'd learned, of the family they'd each lost.

Sasuke had woken the next morning with a terrible headache and vague memories of the night before, but the understanding had been reached. Neither ever again spoke of that evening, and Sasuke swore to not touch alcohol until he was at least Iruka's age. That declaration earned him a chuckle, and blueberry waffles for breakfast.

* * *

_Is that him??_ the ghost of another's chakra brushed gently against his senses, then was gone again. He'd doggedly kept his pace above normal walking speed, but it was taking its toll. He wanted badly to sit and rest, but could not. He took a long, deep breath, counting the seconds before releasing the air in a slow, deliberate stream. _Breath in through the nose, take the energy of the air down to your belly and compress it there, roll it around, then slowly release the fatigue as you exhale. Again, focus on each breath you take instead of each step._ the breathing exercise revived him a little and he quickened his pace to five steps per breath rather than four.

* * *

The breath control lessons were another example of things they did in class that Iruka-Sensei demanded he practice to a higher standard. He was exposed to art of circular breathing, which allowed a skilled user to breath in and out while continuously exhaling. Iruka-Sensei demonstrated by playing a single flute note for seventeen minutes without break. The usefulness of this when combined with arts such as Goukyaku-no-jutsu did not have to be pointed out to Sasuke, who practiced with a will. His incidentally gained skills with the flute Iruka gifted him with were of little importance to him, but the duets they would play were nice.

From breathing exercises they moved to controlling other aspects of the body and mind, from quieting a growling stomach and hiccups to faking ones own death.

"Eventually you'll be able to control your sweating, and even the smell you leave behind. Then you can create a Henge that can fool even the Inuzuka clan." Iruka told him one day on their way back from practice.

"Sensei, does everything always have to be related to Henge?" Sasuke asked, a bit tired of the constant connection.

"Everything we learn is connected." Iruka said after a moment's consideration, "Every art has as many uses as you can think of and more. Nothing is isolated or useless; even the most basic skills are useful tools in their own right, not just the basis for more advanced Jutsu as you and your classmates seem to think they are."

"But any Ninja who gets close enough to sense your chakra won't be fooled by Henge."

"They will if I disguise my chakra. But that is a more advanced skill- you need a mature chakra system to do it properly, so you'll have to wait a few years if you want to learn how to do that."

The skepticism on Sasuke's face made Iruka want to laugh, as did his words, "Even then, you can only pretend to be weaker than you are. You can't change your chakra's strength with Henge."

It was too much, Iruka laughed. Sasuke shot him a sharp glare meant to intimidate him into silence, which didn't help. "Of course not, Master-of-chakra-theory. That is an obvious flaw I somehow missed."

Those who know him even a little know that Sasuke hates to be made fun of, so it was no surprise when he tried to kick Iruka in the shin. Those who know Iruka know that he is both more perceptive and faster than he looks, so it was no surprise when he dodged the kick, spinning around to trip the cadet in turn. This exchange has happened many times before, so Sasuke turns his jumping dodge into a back flip and jumps to attack from the air. Iruka fades back, catching his student's flying foot in the crook of his elbow and the back of Sasuke's shirt in the other hand. A quick twist later leaves the would-be attacker inverted, his face a scant few inches from the ground, his feet above his Sensei's head.

They remain motionless for a moment before Iruka lets Sasuke down. "Tch."

* * *

_I've finally lost him. I don't sense him anywhere nearby. I'll just take a moment to rest behind this rock. Just a moment._


	3. Catching You Up

As Strong as Need Be 

Part Three

Catching You Up

* * *

The Academy Graduation test had been so easy that Sasuke was disappointed. No chance to show his real abilities, just a triple doppleganger jutsu he'd learned last year. Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei knew his test was purely for the record, and he'd been handed his Hitai-Ate with little ceremony save an approving smile. The graduation ceremony was equally boring; he was at the front of the class because of his top ranking, which just meant he couldn't show his boredom at the Hokage's speech. Iruka-sensei shadowed the Hokage as normal afterwards, but they had agreed the day before to meet the next morning for breakfast.

Sasuke knew something was wrong later that night, with so many high level ninja running about the village obviously looking for someone or something, but didn't interfere. The note delivered early the next morning that said Iruka-sensei was healing and couldn't make it to breakfast made him wish he had. He'd rushed the few blocks to his sensei's apartment in time to hide from the exiting medic-nin and a masked ANBU heading down the stairs.

"To think he took a giant shuriken in the back for that fox-child." the medic shook her head derisively.

"Hmph." the ANBU agreed.

_Shuriken? Fox-child...?_ Sasuke's mind raced, but the only possibility was Uzumaki Naruto, the class clown he and Iruka had studied a few months ago. Uzumaki had been born and orphaned the same day as the nine-tailed demon fox attacked, and many of the villagers treated him like a bad luck charm. He'd been the only student in Sasuke's class to fail the finals. _What happened last night?_ he wondered. He quickly used the spare key Iruka-sensei had forced upon him last year to let himself into the apartment. "Sensei?"

"In here, Sasuke." the voice was weary, but not weak as he'd feared.

"What happened, Sensei?"

The next few weeks had been difficult. He knew that Iruka wouldn't change the team assignments no matter how much he complained, so he tried to be patient and hope. Unfortunately he'd been saddled with the Loud-Mouth Dobe, the Motor-Mouth Fangirl and the Mouth, What Mouth? Mysterious Masked Pervert Sensei; a great brainless trio of idiots. Between group training, missions, and the chuunin's own busy schedule, he didn't have much time for training with Iruka.

Worse, the loud-mouth was determined to attach himself permanently to Iruka-sensei, tackling him in the street and loudly demanding ramen dinners while proclaiming his superiority over Sasuke. Iruka offered to treat the rest of the team as well, but after one evening spent trying to avoid Sakura's insinuations that this was their first date, Naruto's angry glares that he had taken the blond's normal seat to Iruka's left and more typical insults, and Kakashi's doubly barbed comments, Sasuke swore off ramen for a year.

During their next practice session Iruka had said that Naruto didn't know any better, "He's so desperate for affection that he overdoes it. He's just afraid that I'm going to change my mind, he'll be fine once he realizes that I'm not going to."

"No one is as stubborn as Iruka-sensei." he'd said, then launched another barrage of shuriken, which had stopped the conversation for a while.

Uchiha Sasuke was of course **not** desperate for affection, which is why he never violated Iruka's personal space with random tackles. After observing how the older ninja seemed to enjoy being hugged he considered it, but his pride refused to follow after the Dobe's example. Just as he never demanded Sushi dinners: he'd earned every bite he'd eaten with well learned lessons. Naruto's babyish demands for indulgence were just that- the indulgence of a child who didn't consider the impositions he created, the kindnesses he presumed upon. _Amaeru-baby._ The brat even wore Iruka-sensei's hatai-ate without realizing the honor he'd been accorded.

Sasuke wasn't like the Dobe, he didn't need the affection of anyone, even his old teacher. Even as Naruto demanded more of Iruka's time, Sasuke found reasons to train alone with Uchiha special Jutsu he'd learned from family scrolls.

After the Chuunin exams the separation was nearly total. Iruka would still drop by Sasuke's apartment on occasion, and Sasuke still had a key to Iruka's home, but they no longer trained together. Iruka said he was glad that Sasuke had found a good teacher in Kakashi, who could teach him the more advanced techniques he was capable of.

Iruka never spoke of Sasuke's abandonment of his lessons. He neglected to mention that according to the mission reports iNaruto/i was the team member who cleverly used Henge and other basic techniques to surprise his opponents, in addition to the more advanced Rasengan and Chidori the boys had learned. When he tried a few times to lessen the growing jealousy he saw between the two boys Sasuke took it as favoring the blond boy. Iruka was hurt by the coldness from the boy he'd once been close to, but he thought that Sasuke had just grown more attached to Kakashi. Kakashi was a much more impressive shinobi than the teacher, he taught more advanced techniques, and was closer in personality to the black haired boy. Iruka never spoke of his sadness at the loss.

Sasuke didn't speak of his feelings, but that was normal for him.

* * *

_That's done._ Iruka nodded in satisfaction as he placed the final ward, then turned in the direction of his resting target, forming the hand seals with rapid precision. Sleep, dream...

* * *

Pages of backstory! Sorry! I tried to make it interesting. More plot in the next chapter. Which is already done! Go!


	4. The Second Hint

As Strong as Need Be 

Part 4

The Second Hint

* * *

beep-beep-beep beep-beep-beep bee- Sasuke brought his hand down on the top of his alarm, returning his apartment to silence. He held himself still for a moment longer, listening. Far away a pump turned, pushing water up a pipe in a motion sensed more than heard; a moment longer brought him the sound of the wall-guards calling the shift change.

"Sasuke-sama?" the voice was soft, muffled by the intervening door, but perfectly clear. It took a long moment to place the voice...

"Moegi??"

"Of course, Sasuke-sama." the door slid open almost silently to admit the girl, but even when he turned he only saw darkness. "Will you be wearing the formal blacks today?"

"Should I be?" he wondered. He still saw nothing, though he could smell the beeswax candle Moegi had set near the bed. The sound of silk sliding on silk from near the closet informed him what she was doing, but not why.

"Of course!" he didn't need sight to feel the glare she leveled at him. "Today is the ten year day. You'll be expected to speak. Don't tell me you forgot!"

"Uh..." He felt tears coming to his eyes, an incredible anguish that threatened to overwhelm him. It seemed a familiar battle to remain calm... yet he could not remember who or what was causing it. _Who died ten years ago?_

"I mean, I'm sure Hinata-san would be glad that you're finally getting over the guilt, but you should remember them today. You're the last of the bloodline seers in Konoha; only you can properly speak for the Uchiha and the Hyuuga. And for the new hospital wing today you had better speak well." Moegi pulled the bottom of his sleeping shirt up and over head almost savagely. "So if you can't remember what you were going to say, I suggest you start thinking about it while I get breakfast." He grasped the slippery pile of clothing thrust into his hands automatically, his mind reeling.

"Yes." is all Sasuke can say before she is gone again, taking her candle with her.

_...the Hyuuga? What do they have to with anything? Guilt? What did I do?..._ he forced his mind into calmness, but before he could do more than connect the Sharingan as an variant of the Byakugan before he felt mental darkness rushing up to meet him once again. He fought the urge to sink to the floor, but wanting was not enough this time.

* * *

The rain was slacking as the dark clouds rolled south, and the steady drum of water on leaves quieted to a slow drip. A swift but stealthy movement startled a few birds, but in a moment the forest was still again, the fading scent of crushed moss the only sign of his passage.

It didn't take long to find the clearing he sought and Iruka eased his slumbering burden from his shoulder to the ground with a sigh. The ground had been disturbed recently, leaving a roughly circular area of loose earth unmarred by stone, plant, or running water. The earth was muddy now, but that would not be a problem for the intended use.

Sasuke offered no resistance as the Chuunin rolled him into an emergency blanket and placed him just-so within a circle drawn in the mud. About ten minutes later he curled into himself, pulling the blanket closer around his shoulders with a soft whimper.

Iruka almost didn't hear it, absorbed in his own work as he was. His brows creased slightly as he checked the progress of his Jutsu. He had enough time to finish before the Uchiha would break free, and to spare. He continued what he was doing steadily; it was no easy thing he planned to do, and it needed to be as close to perfect as possible.

* * *

"Foolish little brother," the words brought him awake instantly. _Itachi! A dream? No, it is... _ Sasuke sprang from his bedroll, assuming a defensive stance as his mind raced. None of his wards had activated, and his hastily activated Sharingan detected almost nothing. _How??!_

Itachi continued on, smirking at his brother's suspiciously shifting gaze. "Really, Sasuke, did you think that I wouldn't find out what you were planning? Killing the Snake and his four-eyed pet wasn't enough you know. You should have killed everyone who could have known."

"I'm not like you." Sasuke growled. The image of his brother was just that- an illusion with no real substance. His eyes tried to follow the flows of chakra that made up the Jutsu, but it was a mess. It was impossible to sort the vital components from the tangle of superfluous lines that encased his brother's image like a spider's webbing. _No doubt deliberate, so I can't break it. Bastard._

"No, you still lack hatred." the tone was almost conversational as Itachi's image stepped slowly closer, "You don't want to kill me badly enough. You're still weak. But I didn't seek you out to speak of old news. I wanted to thank you, my foolish brother, for re-creating that lost Jutsu. I'd heard about it, but never enough to do what you three managed. It really is a wonderful art." he had closed the distance despite Sasuke's careful retreat and placed his shadowy hand on his brother's head. "I'm sure that everyone at home will think so. Even Father would say that you had surpassed my skill with this art. Shall we show them how well it works, little brother? We haven't gone to festival together in years."

"I won't let you." Sasuke shook off the hand, sliding away from the image of his hated brother.

"Next time, Sasuke." the image faded silently away.

Before Itachi was fully gone Sasuke started stuffing his pack. Konoha lay a days long run to the south if he started now. The summer festival was in two weeks. That didn't leave much time to reach the village, be captured, suffer through enough interrogation to convince them to take his warning seriously, then to find some way to counter the horrible Jutsu he'd re-created.

The past two years had taught him how to deal with pain, so the torture that would likely accompany his interrogation didn't concern him very much. Ibiki Morino was sane; that made him unable to match the creativity of either Orochimaru or Kabuto, let alone the things they came up with together. He had gained power from the Snake Sannin, but the price had been high... He pushed the memories away...

...only to have them push back.

The ground shouldn't be falling away from him like this. _It's not possible_, his mind protested, but 'impossible' didn't matter to the darkness. He struggled for air, but the screaming didn't stop. _I'm the one screaming._ he realized as the darkness claimed him.

* * *

"Sasuke-teme, don't you dare die on me! Not after all this." the voice was Naruto's, but the words didn't make any sense. He'd tried to kill Naruto. Naruto was the one with a Chidori hole in his chest, not Sasuke. He tried to look around, but saw only orange. Tattered orange coat.

"Hold on, Sasuke. Naruto, keep feeding him energy, I'm going to close the wounds." that voice was Sakura. An older Sakura, a stronger Sakura whose steady hands he could feel on his cold chest, the finely controlled chakra threading into his body with skill and confidence. Memory came back to him: Itachi, the lost Jutsu, the threat to Konoha.

Another warm chakra presence bolstered his own. _Naruto? It must be._ "Did we...?" he whispered softly. He had no air, the words were all mouth movement, but Sakura heard them.

"Shikamaru's plan worked; Itachi's dead. But Neji fell. Tsunade-sama is working on him. Don't talk, you took a lung hit." Sakura told him tersely.

_We did it. We stopped Itachi._ the relief that flooded through his body allowed him to ignore the pain for a moment of clarity.

He'd been so lucky. On his way back to Konoha he'd encountered Lee, Neji and Kiba out training and somehow convinced them to hear him out. They'd sent Akamaru for Tsunade-hime-sama, who brought along Ibiki and strangely, Iruka-sensei. The confrontation bypassed tense and landed firmly in the realm of excruciating before Iruka-sensei had intervened, convincing Ibiki and Tsunade that Sasuke was telling the truth about Itachi and the new Jutsu. He hadn't earned real forgiveness, just a stay of judgment while they'd worked on a counter-Jutsu and plan.

_Shikamaru's plan worked, Itachi is dead. _The words echoed pleasantly through his mind, the pain fell further away in the sense of freedom. When he opened his eyes again he saw a blue sky and clouds. The beautiful floating clouds Shikamaru was so found of. He felt his face muscles pull themselves into a seldom used configuration, bringing a small happy smile to the last Uchiha's face for the first time in years. _I feel so light. So free..._

"No, you don't." Naruto's stern voice and chakra flow brought him back to reality, to the pain of his body. He whimpered silently, the allowable cry of pain he'd learned while with Orochimaru. He fought the floating sensation, forcing himself to concentrate on the way his sword sheath dug into his lower back, and the ticklish grass under his legs. _The Dobe is right. I can't just float away. I only just came back. I still haven't heard the story of how Lee won Sakura over, or watched Hinata and Neji fight together like Kiba was talking about. Ino's still in Sand and Kakashi's still on mission in Cloud. I can't leave without seeing them again. I only just got back. _

"Get down! Now! It's a Fail-Safe Jutsu!" the voice boomed over the training field that had become a battle field that morning.

Later only Kiba recognized Hinata as the source of the warning that allowed most of the combatants to fling themselves down before the enormous ball of fire erupted from the corpse of Uchiha Itachi destroyed what was left of the field's training equipment. The young Hyuuga genin was too close to the explosion to have survived even if Itachi's final revenge hadn't activated.

Hinata died in a pyre of color; Neji's body just crumpled under Tsunade's hands, turning almost instantly to ash. Hiashi Hyuuga, Hanabi... all the Hyuuga family suffered the same fate as Neji, erased from existence in a moment. Without a cry, without a prayer.

Sasuke screamed as the fireball hit. He could feel the twisted threads of his brother's hatred pulling him down, burning his mind and soul even though his body resisted the Gokyaku-fire. He fought the angry death-energy, but it found hid own hatred and merged with it. A small voice cried out in darkness, but was lost in the roar of anger, hatred and pain.

Then came another. Strength and something else. Something hard against his back, something soft on his cheek and tangibly ethereal between his fingers. He reached for it, the familiar feeling of sinking into something came again, but this wasn't darkness. It was Light. _Love. This is love_. He could hear the darkness and the hatred screaming in the distance, but already the pain was fading. All he could see was light.

* * *

"Sasuke... Teme, will you listen to me?"

"Naruto? Uh... Where are we?"

"Sorry, can't say. There's rules, see? I'm not even supposed to be here, so listen."

"Not suppo- I don't understand."

"You never did. Just shut up for once and listen for once. I don't have much time. Look..." the blond boy hesitated, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean for it to turn out this way. I just couldn't let you go when I'd just gotten you back, so I went to far. I didn't mean to. Tell Sakura I'm sorry too, when you get back."

"Why don't you tell her yourself, Naruto?" he had a feeling he was missing something, but couldn't place it anymore than he could explain this strange gray landscape they were standing in.

"Cause I can't... You see, I'm not really here. I used to much chakra and the Kyuubi pulled me down. I'm with her now. I'm not even supposed to be talking to you, but she's covering for me."

"Kyuubi? what does the fox have to do wi-"

"Look, just ask Iruka-sensei. He knows the whole story better than anyone. Tell him I'm sorry, too. And Kakashi-sensei, and Ero-sennin. Tell them it's not as bad as they think. The souls don't have to fight without rest. There's peace here. You have to tell them that. Memorize it. Don't forget. It's important."

"'The souls don't have to fight without rest. There's peace here.'" Sasuke repeated woodenly. He had an idea now, an instinctive feeling of what was happening.

"Exactly. You were always good at copying stuff, even without your eyes."

"No... you can't be dead. Not saving me. I was the one who unsealed the bloodline killing Jutsu, I'm the one to blame. You can't just-"

"Sorry." Naruto shrugged sheepishly as he faded away.

"Wait, Naruto!"

* * *

_...Rat, Moon, Chaos, Sun, Wind, Lightning, Spirit, Moon, Dragon_. the basic and advanced signs flews beneath Iruka's fingers as he wove the complex chakra streams for this Jutsu. His Jutsu Only he and Sandaime had ever used it, and only a select few others even knew of its existence. He hoped to teach it to others one day, but today was not that day.

He lifted his chin and spread his arms away from his body as the Jutsu took hold. For a moment he was in agony, every nerve, muscle, bone and organ aflame from within, but only for a moment. He had prepared for it, expected it. The several hours of preparation paid off- it had worked. He swung his arms and launched into a short Kata to loosen suddenly tense muscles._ Good enough. No one would expect me to be in great shape after all. Time to clean up, then go._

Several minutes later Iruka set off from the clearing, heading north.

* * *

"Sasuke-sama, wake up." Moegi stood over him, the wax dripping down the candle to pool in the holder. "It's almost time to go." 


	5. Without Work, Nothing Remains

As Strong as Need Be:

Without effort, Nothing remains:

* * *

Author note: Sorry about the strange scene changes. All will be explained.

* * *

The sky was dark overhead, with only the faintest starlight trickling through the light cloud cover. The moon would be rising soon, but even it would not provide more than a sliver of light. The small clearing in the forest wasn't nearly as dark as the surrounding wood, thanks to a small chemical light glowing in the center of the smaller of two circles drawn in the mud.

Several feet away inside the larger circle lay a boy with blue-black hair and pale skin marred by bruises and a strange mark on his exposed left shoulder. From his clothing, the holster secured to his leg with white bandage strips, and the pouch on his hip it was easy to deduce his profession: shinobi. The only thing missing from his accoutrement's was the hitai-ate, the forehead protector that marked the village the shinobi hailed from. Well, the hitai-ate was missing and so was the alertness every real shinobi cultivated like a precious flower. This young man was completely oblivious to the world around him, twitching from time to time and making small noises in his sleep.

* * *

"This really isn't funny." Sasuke was wet, cold, and tired. The ceremony had gone as well as such a thing could. He couldn't remember what he'd said. It must have been acceptable. He'd left before the reception, fleeing blindly to the bridge where once they had once met. Every morning he would arrive first, using the rails and arches of the bridge to train his balance and aim. He would wait for the other genin of team seven to gather and together they would wait for Kakashi-sensei, and wait, and wait... always they would wait for at least an hour.

He knew that no one was coming, that Kakashi-sensei would not show up no matter how long he waited. But he had stood there for hours after the new hospital wing was opened. He rehearsed in his mind the excuse the old jounin would use, and how he'd have to yell 'liar' for both Naruto and Sakura, who were for some reason not showing up today.

He'd let his memories carry him away, and hadn't sensed whoever it was that had neatly upended him over the rail and into the water below. He'd surfaced a moment later, moving through his body until he was standing atop the water. Though he couldn't see, the aura atop the bridge was familiar. "Iruka-sensei?"

"Sasuke." Never before had he heard Iruka-sensei say his name so flatly. There was no inflection, no expression, nothing at all.

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of a thing to say. Something was wrong, but he couldn't place it.

"What is the third rule?" the question startled him, but his brain immediately supplied the answer.

"See what is; nothing more and nothing less..." _Oh._

* * *

"KAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!" the scream rang through the forest, bringing silence in its wake.

Several moments later the small noises of birds, crickets, dripping water, and the like reasserted themselves, not that the young ninja noticed. He was still trying to reassert control over his breathing, as the short gasps were not giving his brain enough oxygen to deal with the situation properly.

_Genjutsu. It was all a Genjutsu. That Bastard!_ There was no doubt in Sasuke's mind who had Genjutsu'd him. The loving detail with which the world had been crafted cried out for acknowledgments, especially the way the Sharingan visions had been thoughtfully provided within the Jutsu, negating the advantage it provided in seeing past the illusion. He also felt ridiculously refreshed, his chakra level restored more effectively than if he had slept for a week. He had felt this way a few times before, always after Iruka-sensei had cast a genjutsu over him.

Iruka-sensei had refused to teach him how he did it. Apparently it could only be applied by another person, since while the chakra was regenerating it could not be channeled. _"It is not a combat technique."_ he could almost hear the lecture. _"And despite my efforts, you are a combat ninja. If you ever decide to become a medic, I may teach you. Until then, no."_ He'd whined a little, to no avail.

In his final year at the academy he'd done several genjutsu-missions. Iruka-sensei called it field-training on the cheap; Sasuke called it Evil Sensei Mode. Once he'd spent an entire weekend reliving a scenario in which one of the other students in his class had been replaced. His task was to figure out which it was without tipping his hand. In the end the impostor had been Kiba'a dog Akamaru, who had become female and in heat. Sasuke had tried to kill Iruka with even more vigor than normal when he'd awakened. They'd gone for sushi afterward, but still!

He looked around the clearing, noting the circles, the chemical light, and the small pack. _Definitely Iruka-sensei._ he thought as he examined the broken remains of symbols in the large circle around himself. None of the kanji could be read but it was clearly more complex than the set-up they'd used for Genjutsu training, and the second circle had been connected to the first with what looked like a series of Konoha leaves, Uchiha fans, and Wave symbols? He couldn't read what it was for, even with the Sharingan. _So complicated._ It was Iruka-sensei's weakness: all his best techniques required elaborate preparations that couldn't be made in combat.

The small pack had several days of field rations, a utility knife, and a note:

"Either way you go, I will see you soon. Remember the rules. -Iruka."

* * *

Sorry about the shortness, but this seemed the best place to stop for a goodly ways. more action next chapter.


	6. My Own Reasons

As Strong as Need be

Part 6  
For My Own Reasons

* * *

"For two days I've been tracking Iruka-sensei northward. He's not moving very fast, and I think I passed him at least twice, but I can't find him. I've been following the signs Leaf ninja use to mark a trail for their team-mates. He must know I'm here, but he hasn't done anything about it.

"Of course I'm wary. Last time I let my guard down he stuck me in a Genjutsu and left me laying defenseless in the mud!

"I'm not sure why I'm telling you this. I won't need to fill out a mission report anyway. And you don't care, you're a rock."

Sasuke received no response, but that was normal. He stuffed the small agate back into his pocket. He'd picked up the stone near a creek in the forest shortly after starting at the ninja academy, admiring the red tone and the darker imperfections that looked vaguely like a Sharingan from the right angle. Most days he kept it in his pocket, spinning it between his fingers when he was impatient or anxious. Not that he'd admit to being either.

He decided that a few more minutes at this stream wouldn't hurt.

He hadn't realized how quiet the forest was when you were traveling alone. Naruto and Sakura had always filled the silence with their bickering or at least with the sounds of movement. Even Kakashi-sensei was a tangible presence, reassuring in a quirky death-on-legs way. Now there was nothing but the sounds of the creek and wildlife; those sounds had ceased to be soothing yesterday morning and now he had to think to even notice them. _Lonely._ drifted through his mind before he could stop it. He shook he head, digging into his pack for something to eat.

Sasuke chewed mindlessly on the Konoha field ration bar. He couldn't look at the things anymore without remembering Naruto's ranting about the flavor (grainy with a touch of bitter herb) and the texture (cardboard dipped in glue with pebbly dried fruit bits). On the way to Wave country he'd complained every time they'd been forced to eat them, often venturing into the evils of Vegetables and, "Why does everything good for you have to taste terrible?". Sasuke knew that the Mist country ration bar recipe was much better tasting than Konoha's, but wasn't going to explain that to the Dobe. The Dobe might then have wondered how Sasuke knew, and the last Uchiha had no intention of sharing his horde of bars with Naruto. He'd eaten the last of his Mist ration bars on the Race mission, and somehow getting more from Iruka-sensei had never been convenient.

The bar was gone. The muscles of his face pulled themselves into a smirk of their own volition. _I didn't taste it at all. Mind over taste buds. I'm getting good at that._

* * *

Not far from where Sasuke sat eating his nasty Konoha ration bar, another dark-haired ninja leaned against a tree, enjoying a honey drizzled Mist-recipe ration bar. At first glance he appeared to be a relative of the Uchiha boy, with the same outfit and hair. A closer look revealed that either Sasuke had a long lost twin or somebody was using Henge.

Iruka finished the last bite with relish, then walked up the trunk of the tree he'd been leaning against, resuming his journey towards the Land of Rice and the Village of Hidden Sound. He'd moved slowly for the past two days both to simulate the speeds a wounded and drained Sasuke would have been making, and to adjust to his assumed form. He'd acclimatized himself to his new height, reach, and strength before working on controlling his altered chakra flow. It had been a few months since he'd assumed a form this short, but it hadn't taken long to readjust. He was ready for what he had to do.

_I wonder how long it'll take him to catch up this time?_ the academy teacher mused as he leaped from branch to branch. Normally Iruka used his hands to push off with if he needed to jump upward to the next branch, but Sasuke only used his hands for sudden turns, so Iruka refrained. He didn't know when he would meet another ninja, and he couldn't afford to become lax.

_What's this?_ movement in the corner of his vision sent him into hiding, the leaves providing all the cover he needed.

* * *

_Sound ninja._ Sasuke recognized the rope-sashes immediately. He crept forward until he could hear what they were saying.

"Look, you can't keep Kabuto-san waiting. He's not very far away, so move your ass."

"Hnn. I'm coming."

It took most of Sasuke's self-control to not gasp when he heard his own voice speaking. Then 'he' stepped nonchalantly out of a bush. He knew that it had to be Iruka-sensei, but it took a moment to convince himself. The likeness was perfect from the cowlicks to the curse mark, the voice and tone matched, and the chakra flow was identical. Somehow Iruka-sensei had counterfeited a chakra aura greater than his own and simulated the Sharingan, all with no signs of Genjutsu anywhere near him.

He remained hidden while his double trotted off, bracketed between the two sound ninja, thinking furiously.

_Why is he taking my place? Does he want the power? That's not like him. He never wanted power before. He's just a Chuunin, and happy that way. He doesn't have anyone to avenge._ He thought of Iruka's parents, but dismissed the notion: he had accepted Naruto. Iruka loved Naruto, had given him his own Hitai-ate, and bought him ramen. Not even Iruka-sensei could have been acting that well.

_Is he trying to save me? Does he think he still has that right?_ The thought brought anger, then a strange peace. _Does he think he can love us both, or is he..._ the thought remained unfinished, but the feeling of hope surged into his heart unopposed. _Maybe he does still care? But, he has Naruto now. How?_

He slipped from hiding, quickly and quietly following the three ninja through the woods. He would get to the bottom of this.

* * *

_Quicker than I thought._ Iruka observed smugly when he noticed their silent shadow. _Just let Naruto have not rubbed off on him too much. If he appears at the wrong moment it'll ruin everything. And I don't think another chance this good will come my way ever again._ He forced the evil grin down before it could spread across his borrowed face.

_Yes, I'll go see Kabuto. I've been looking forward to seeing him again since the exams. We have so much to ... discuss._

* * *

Author Notes:

For some reason I keep overestimating how long sections are going to be. ; Still longer than part 5, and I accomplished what I wanted. I'm still working on pacing, but I think this chapter works: starts slow and contemplative, then picks up. when somethign actually happens.

And yes, I love the idea of Sasuke and his rock. It doesn't talk back, it never complains if he ignores it for days at a time, and it never glares at or fawns on him. It is loyal, never gossipping about him behind his back or blaming him for its own incompetence. Yes, Sasuke loves his rock.

Be aware that I post this without waiting a day like I usually do, so I may change/edit/add-to/adjust it.

As always comments are appreciated.


	7. The Third Hint

As Strong as Need Be

Part 7  
The Third Hint

* * *

"This is the meeting point. You wait here." the sound nin motioned at a fallen log with one hand.

"Uhn." Iruka-Sasuke sat on the ground, back against the log, arms crossed across his chest, bored expression across his face.

"The others will be here in a few hours." the less sullen escort added. "You hungry?"

"No."

"Fine." the sound ninja shrugged before sitting on the opposite side of the log and pulling out a ration cake.

* * *

/Yeah, this is a flashback, not a really random contact-the-dead sequence./

"Iruka?" the familiar voice floated down to him.

"Hokage-sama." he made himself smile as he looked up from the scroll he was working on.

"I hope I'm not interrupting?" Third Hokage lit his pipe, coming to sit on the opposite side of the picnic table from the academy instructor.

"Of course not." Iruka finished the line of characters he'd been working on, then laid his brush aside. "What can I do for you?"

"Always so helpful, and on your day off."

Iruka felt his eyebrow twitching at the Hokage's tone. "This isn't about another 'day off', is it?"

The beatific smile on the third Hokage's face didn't fool the Chuunin at all, "Maa, Iruka, you're so paranoid. You really should learn to relax."

"Hokage-sama, the last 'day off' almost killed me." Iruka's tone could have cracked concrete, though his voice never rose above conversational level.

"Who knew fishing could be so stressful."

"Hokage-sama!"

"I'm not here about that, Iruka."

It never failed to amaze Iruka how quickly Sarutobi could change the mood of a moment with so few words. He didn't flinch, but it took all of his training not to. He lowered his gaze, waiting for the words he'd been expecting since the conclusion of the second exam. "I'm sorry that I-"

"Umino, I have a mission for you.", the Hokage cut him off.

That brought his head up quickly. It had been several years since he'd heard that phrase. Missions for Umino were of a different sort than the ones meant for Iruka. They were missions that called for the skills only he possessed, and they were never seldom less than A-rank. He squared his shoulders to attention, waiting.

"Umino, you have a mission starting now, but first you must listen to me."

"Yes, sir?"

"You haven't been close to Kabuto for years, and you have had more than enough on to keep your mind occupied. It is not your fault for not noticing his defection. You will put that out of your mind. For your mission begins now, and will not end for some time. The Village cannot afford your distraction."

"I- I will put it aside."

"Your mission is here." He placed a sealed scroll on the table next to the stack Iruka was working on, "No matter what happens at the Finals, you will carry it out afterwards. _No matter what._ Even if it is delayed, it still must happen. And you must be the one to do it; no one else stands a chance. Therefore, you will keep yourself alive until it is completed. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I understand."

"Good.", the elderly leader smiled, his whole demeanor shifting from stern to cheerfully mischievous in a moment, "And if all goes well, I'll give you a real day off."

* * *

_They must be waiting for someone._ Sasuke decided, settling himself a little more comfortably on the branch. He'd selected his hiding place with care, and eased himself into it with even more. The old apple tree he perched in had been completely over-run with a combination of blackberries and kudzu that made a thick, prickly curtain against detection. Like many bramble patches it had gone hollow, leaving an excellent hiding place for any shinobi willing to risk his skin to get inside. He'd followed the odd trio from a respectful distance and watched their patrol pattern for half an hour before slipping closer.

Why Iruka-sensei had decided to impersonate him Sasuke still didn't know, and because he didn't know, he kept hesitating. Infiltration seemed the most likely reason, but how had Iruka-sensei even known he had left Konoha, let alone intercepted him? The teacher had been out of the village for weeks, leaving shortly after the third Hokage's funeral for parts unknown. According to Kotetsu he'd been given a mission of unknown duration by the Third before his death, the details of which were a secret.

The thought that Iruka's mission might have been to infiltrate Sound in his place occurred to him, but Sasuke found that idea too far-fetched to believe. It would have required that the Third have ridiculous powers of foresight, which couldn't be true; there was no way the Third Hokage would have allowed the Chuunin Exam surprise invasion to happen the way it did if he had known what was coming. _So how did Iruka-sensei known where to look for me? Or had it just been luck? Or was something else going on?_ That was a possibility, he realized, _Didn't Iruka-sensei once mention Kabuto during training?_ He wracked his brain, but he couldn't remember when the medic had been mentioned, or the context. A sudden movement in the clearing garnered his immediate attention, breaking his line of thought.

_Think of the devil..._

* * *

"Ah, Sasuke-kun. You finally showed up."

Iruka lifted his head slightly to look at the traitorous medic. "Kabuto." He'd sensed the younger man and his two escorts approaching for several minutes but effected indifference. Playing Sasuke had ended up being easier than he'd thought; the lack of expressions, the aloof attitude, and the casual rudeness were all rather easy to imitate. "Take me to Orochimaru."

Kabuto sighed, "Rude as normal, Sasuke-kun. We'll go to Orochimaru-sama soon." He turned to the two sound ninja who had escorted the dark haired one to this spot. "You two have rested enough. Proceed to the second meeting point and wait for the Four to arrive. If they do not show up by tomorrow night, go home."

"Yes sir."

"Right." The two ninja gathered their things quickly and left, the friendly one actually smiled at Iruka as he left, but got no response.

"You two, I need the supplies from the Cache." Kabuto tilted his head in the general direction of a tangle of bushes not to far from the clearing.

"Right away."

_Better and better!_ Iruka kept himself from reveling to much in his luck. The other ninja weren't going very far, so he would still need to be very careful.

"Sasuke-kun, let me see your mark's progress." Kabuto motioned for him to come closer.

Iruka shrugged, sliding his hands behind his back in an slight stretch, a motion he'd watched the real Sasuke make many times. He also palmed a small senbon that he had meticulously hidden up one sleeve. It was shorter than normal, and thicker, but it's most distinctive characteristic was the thin layer of paper that had been covered with symbols and carefully wrapped around the senbon. _Carefully, carefully..._ he deliberately pushed his shoulders back, slinking over to Kabuto without enthusiasm.

Kabuto pulled the shirt away from Iruka's shoulder with a surprising gentleness, his hands already glowing with Chakra. Once he seemed fully engrossed with his examination Iruka flexed his fingers to hold the wrapped needle properly, bringing the Senbon up to shoulder height very, very slowly. _Ready, Steady..._

Kabuto's head snapped up, "Sasu-"

_Go!_ Iruka plunged the senbon into Kabuto's neck, releasing the Jutsu inscribed in the wrappings. Kabuto's body spasmed violently and he managed a short shout before he tumbled to the ground, paralyzed.

* * *

Author Note: Yeah, cliffhanger, I know. Sorry Sorry! I'm about halfway done with the next section, but it's about 3 am. Next part tomorrow probably. Happiness!


	8. Strong Enough

As Strong as Need Be Part 8:  
Strong Enough

* * *

Author Note: It jumps back and forth a fair amount at first, sorry. Still, this is one fight, not two, and the sides take place at the same time and effect each other, thus they are interspersed.  
I'm also using the translated names for the various attacks; not because I'm using manga continuity, but because it's easier to name a new Jutsu in a way that makes sense in English. I could provide Japanese Jutsu names with translations, but no one cares, so what's the point?

* * *

**A few second earlier...**

_Crap, they _are _headed right this way._ Sasuke had held onto the hope that this 'cache' was somewhere else for several seconds before abandoning it. Fortunately the pair seemed more interested in the far side of the bramble, so it would be slightly longer before they saw him. He could use the sounds they'd be making to cover his quick exit from the back of the bramble patch, and then he- Well, he'd figure that part out. Presently he was putting the first part of his plan into action and needed to concentrate on not shredding his clothes and body on the blackberry thorns.

"Aah!" the inarticulate shout-gasp brought the sound ninjas' heads whipping around, directly away from Sasuke and the bush. He took the opportunity to activate his Sharingan, looking past the closer enemies towards the clearing. He watched himself-Iruka drop Kabuto's inert body to the ground, a complicated web of chakra centered on the Senbon lodged in Kabuto's neck. He was making signs, but they weren't ones that Sasuke recognized, and there was no immediate effect.

"What the hell!" The blond sound kunoichi was charging back to the clearing, the other darker male ninja was making hand seals. Familiar Hand Seals. Sasuke reached for a kunai, leaping up into a tree so he would have a clear shot over the bramble.

"Fire Release", dodging the kunai must have been reflexive, the sound ninja spun around to confront the unexpected attacker, his point of aim similarly deflected. "Great Fireball."

Sasuke leaped clear of the burning thicket, circling to get behind his opponent.

* * *

The kunoichi was skilled, Iruka had to grant her that. The combination of regular shuriken and concentrated wind/sound blasts across a wide front left him little choice but to jump up, and once in the air he would be vulnerable. Fortunately for him, his Sasuke disguise allowed him to carry as much ninja wire as he could ever want. A quickly thrown shuriken perforated a tree trunk and he was able to swing himself quickly enough to avoid the follow-up barrage of weaponry. He did catch the edge of the sound wave blast, his ears ringing loudly in protest as he landed in the tree. 

Iruka tugged his wire-shuriken loose with a swift jerk and launched himself from the tree before the third wave caught him. _She must be able to summon, to use that many weapons so quickly. If I can last until she has to summon more, I can use that to my advantage._

He reached into his hip pouch for a special scroll, unlike any other he had encountered. Some shinobi carried scrolls of summoning for animals or weapons. He was the only one he knew who carried a scroll that summoned other scrolls. He'd been teased about this by his friends ever since he came up with the idea. _Better to be teased than needlessly weighed down._ He sent a Sasuke-clone to circle around his opponent while he quickly summoned the scroll he needed, picking it from the similar ones that also appeared floating in front of him, but un-summoned themselves once he grabbed one.

He felt his clone die with a poof of chakra and readied his next move.

* * *

Surprising the male sound ninja wouldn't work, Sasuke concluded. The man tracked him regardless of how he tried to confuse his path with trees, smoke, and misdirections. _He must be able to track me by sound or scent. There's no way he could have tracked me visually. So..._ He winced internally at the idea of using Naruto's favorite art, but didn't hesitate this time. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." He whispered, creating a single solid clone which he sent scrambling along the same line he'd been traveling while he dropped silently into a bush. 

_By sound._ He thought triumphantly when the older ninja immediately homed in on the clone, killing it with another ball of flame, this one more concentrated than the one that set the brambles ablaze.

Sasuke heard a curse, then a shout. "Heika!" the sound ninja yelled as he turned to rejoin his partner, "This one was just a clone, yours is the real one!"

"Then get over here, Shuu!"

_That was way too easy._ Sasuke felt a sudden, unprecedented Sakura-esque urge to yell at the retreating idiot, but restrained himself. He concentrated on silence as he headed towards the cacophonous sounds of Iruka's side of the battle.

* * *

Iruka was just about done inscribing the circle around his opponent. It wasn't even close to perfectly round, but it was close enough for what he had planned. Far too large by the standards usually applied to such things, it was the best he could do while actively dodging attacks and making a circle by dragging a stick through the earth. _Close enough._ He worked his hands through the symbols. _Chaos, Horse, Dog, Order, Dragon._ He sliced his hand to provide the required blood price, drawing it across the scroll he'd summoned earlier. "Bitter Summons: Contract Reversed." The Circle he'd drawn flared, then contracted rapidly around his target, meeting a few feet to her left, flashing upwards and then disappearing without apparent effect. 

Heika laughed, drawing a scroll of her own from a pocket. "I don't know what that was supposed to do, but you missed."

Iruka dropped the used scroll and fled across the field towards the far trees. _It doesn't have to hit, you know..._

"Projectile Summon: Shrieking Rain." She grinned as a small horde of hollow senbon appeared above her and flew at him, the tiny holes carved in each senbon sounding a different note as the mass moved. His fingers flashed together to make a seal, but it would not be quick enough to save him.

Except that the needles never reached him. They seemed to hit an invisible wall and reversed course to attack their summoner. She flung herself to the side and the needles screamed past. "You!" she stared at the running Iruka-Sasuke in horror. "You missed on purpose? But wh-AAAAH!". She didn't manage to finish her question before the second rebound. While most of the whistling-senbon had buried themselves in the dirt when she dodged, a few still had enough height to bounce off the back of the circle Iruka had drawn and hit her from behind. Most hit in the legs, but it was enough to put her down on her face, screaming once more before going quiet.

The second sound ninja roared his protest, making the signs to summon more fire to smite the dark-haired genin leaping up into a large oak. He wouldn't be tricked again.

"Sharingan Windmill Triple Attack." The voice came from completely the wrong direction, so Shuu ignored it and the shadowy shuriken images that accompanied it.

"I won't be tricked again that easily! Fire Re-" Again Shuu was interrupted mid-attack, but this time his arms were pinned to his body as he flew through the air towards the nearest tree. The thin wires wrapping around his arms and torso were quite real. _So was Heika also attacking a clone? Or had the fleeing image been a clone while the real Sasuke went the other way, counting on me to run into his trap?_

Shuu looked up. One Sasuke was perched in a tree near the one he was tied to, a wire in each hand and another held between his teeth while another stalked across the clearing towards him. The approaching figure smirked at him, making the sign of sheep. "Release." he said, and in his place stood a Konoha Hunter-Nin in animal mask and cloak.

_Oh._ was the last thought of the Sound ninja before the world went dark.

* * *

Sasuke coiled his ninja wire with a precise but mindless motion, watching Iruka-sensei as he moved around the clearing. Iruka-sensei had only held the hunter-nin form long enough to knock out the two escorts and then lay them out on the ground before returning to Sasuke's shape. If he caught the shudder Sasuke had been unable to contain at seeing a chakra-perfect copy of himself, he gave no sign. 

Iruka rolled Kabuto over, careful not to dislodge the special senbon, revealing that the traitor was still aware, but paralyzed. The stare of confusion as he looked at the two Sasukes was almost comical. Iruka ended the confusion by re-assuming his own form, and understanding dawned in Kabuto's eyes.

Sasuke watched the transformation with his Sharingan, for what good it did. He could see the chakra lines shifting along with the physical form, but not how it was done. Of course he was just watching the release of the Jutsu. Perhaps if he saw the first stage he could learn more.

"Ah, little-Kabuto. It's been so long since we spoke as ourselves, rather than as infiltrator and target.", Iruka's expression was sad, mismatched to his light and whimsical tone. "And I'm afraid it will be a while before we do again. Don't worry too much, Ibiki-san is still mostly sane."

Sasuke wasn't sure what Morino Ibiki had to do with anything, or if he even agreed with Iruka's assessment of his sanity, but the look in Kabuto's eyes convinced him that a threat had been made and acknowledged.

"Till then, Kabuto-san. Good night.", Iruka pushed Kabuto's eyes closed.

The web of chakra centered on the senbon responded strangely to the motion, shifting to form an additional pattern atop the paralysis. A long moment of staring and thinking allowed Sasuke to conclude that it was another Genjutsu of some sort. Iruka formed several seals over the still body, then removed the senbon, leaving the web behind.

Sasuke was startled out of his mental wanderings when Iruka turned to face him squarely. "Sensei."

Iruka shook his head slowly, almost sighing his name, "Sasuke."

Sasuke wracked his brain for something to say. Jumping in to help Iruka-sensei against the Sound ninja had been an act of reflex, not a conscious choice on his part. He didn't want to give up on his chance at power, did he? He'd already burned his bridges in Konoha when he'd nearly killed Naruto. But the path ahead was equally torched, thanks to Iruka-sensei! The Sound Ninja were sure to believe that he'd intended to betray them from the beginning, considering the outcome of this fight. His only hope was to disable Iruka-sensei, break the Jutsu, and somehow convince Kabuto that he was innocent.

"Tch.", the familiar hand reached out to gently ruffle his hair. "Your body knows what you want. Your heart knows what you want. Only your mind is still confused." Iruka pulled off his hitai-ate, and with a quick motion produced from his pocket a similar band with a Sound Village Symbol on it, holding both out to him. "Stop telling yourself what you should do. Try listening, instead."

Sasuke wanted to fight the advice, to fly into a rage and reject the choice that was offered. But he didn't. He stood perfectly still, listening.

* * *

Author Note 2: Please don't kill me for the cliffhanger! Have a little faith! 

Part nine: The Fourth Hint will be the last, and some but not all questions will be answered. So if you have questions you want answered let me know in a review or email, and if it doesn't come up in the story I'll answer in the last author's note. Love and Peace!


	9. The Fourth Hint

As Strong as Need be

Part 9  
The Fourth Hint

* * *

_"Stop telling yourself what you should do. Try listening, instead."_

The Sound and Konoha hitai-ate Iruka presented him with were outwardly similar, a length of cloth with a metal insert, each decorated with a village symbol. Konoha's cloth was blue while Sound's was black, but otherwise they were much the same. What they represented was miles apart; miles he'd hoped to cover before any of his regrets set in.

Behind him were so many painful memories that he'd hoped to bury, bonds that weakened his resolve and granted him no power in return. Ahead was the promise of power, to make Itachi notice him, to gain the vengeance he'd been living for. That is all he'd allowed himself to think about, when he made the choice to leave. But with the choices held out to him, so plainly it was almost painful, he'd remembered other things.

He remembered Orochimaru's attack in the Forest of Death, and the strength he'd found in himself to overcome Naruto's accusations of cowardice. He remembered the pain caused by the mark, the sound ninja who had attacked Sakura, and overcoming the mark in the preliminary round. Memories of the battle at the Chuunin Exam Finals that had left so many dead, his weakness when he needed strength. The fight with Itachi, the casual way that Itachi ignored him in favor of Naruto, always Naruto! He remembered the fight on the hospital with Naruto, who had grown strong so much faster than Sasuke had. He remembered the Valley of the End. All these things that drove him away from pain, the reasons he needed power.

He remembered Sushi. He remembered eating hard-earned sushi-takeout with Iruka-sensei, talking and laughing as he never did with anyone else, because no one else insisted. He remembered flute music that went on forever, well-thumbed books on acting, psychology and history, and games cleverly disguised as lessons so he would willingly participate. He remembered quiet Sunday afternoons sprawled on the cushions studying while Iruka-sensei corrected papers.

He remembered learning to cook after he concluded that there was no way Iruka-sensei could afford to eat takeout so often on his teaching salary. He remembered the surprised stare he'd gotten the first time he'd brought 'leftovers' to their afternoon lesson, and the warm smile he'd received every time thereafter. He remembered his embarrassment and irritation when Kotetsu pointed out that Iruka was well paid for working the mission desk, and could easily afford to live on takeout if he wanted to.

Sasuke also remembered the surprised look on his teammates' faces the first time he'd made dinner while on a mission. Kakashi been startled and Sakura couldn't decide whether to be delighted or upset that he was cooking her a meal. Naruto, of course, had teased him about being 'womanish'. Sakura had beaten the blond idiot over the head for that comment, and for once Sasuke had agreed with her. Sasuke had taken the opportunity to point out to Naruto that his ramen-only diet was obviously atrophying his brain in addition to stunting his growth. Kakashi had prevented the attack that followed from upsetting the stew-pot, while Sasuke was left to keep the idiot from pushing them both into the fire. He'd always enjoyed watching the whining Naruto wash the dishes afterwards, a chore he neatly sidestepped by cooking for everyone.

He remembered that same Idiot blond complaining about his cooking to a bemused Iruka-sensei after that mission. That idiot had gone for ramen with Iruka-sensei, wearing the teacher's old hitai-ate, and Sasuke had walked the other way. He remembered the sad look Iruka had shot him before being dragged off.

Sasuke reached for the hitai-ate he'd wanted ever since he'd heard where Naruto had gotten his.

* * *

"I always did have a big head." Iruka laughed, "Let me tie it." 

Sasuke pulled the over-sized hitai-ate back over his head sheepishly. He'd tried to slip it on with a minimum of fuss, but it had slid past his forehead and over his eyes, prompting Iruka's laughter and a embarrassed blush he was unable to suppress Something about Iruka-sensei always made it hard to be stoic, and after the last few minutes he felt an overwhelming urge to laugh hysterically. He allowed himself a laugh, but not hysterics.

"I'm glad I don't have to disown you as a student.", Iruka said as he pulled the knot tight, securing the headband in place.

"For running away?"

"No, for not realizing that running away was no longer a viable option. I'd have to disavow you if you hadn't figured that out." Sasuke knew that smile. It wasn't his teacher's normal warm and welcoming smile, but the wicked smirk of a prankster who had just gotten someone good. He often wore it after pranking Jounin who'd pissed him off in the mission room.

"Uh-huh." Sasuke glared.

"Really. You did realize that it's not an option anymore, didn't you?", Iruka asked as he took a kunai to Kabuto's hair, slicing off a goodly amount and setting it on the ground.

"Yes, I realize that you managed to make it... inadvisable to go near Sound anytime soon."

"They don't like infiltrators in the Rice Field Country." Iruka said as he moved the inert Kabuto over several feet, then started spreading some acid on the ground where he had been lying. "They like them even less than we like Missing Ninja." He continued his work while Sasuke considered his words, setting the acidic liquid and the cut hair ablaze.

"How did you find me?" Sasuke asked, moving to get upwind of the scent of burning hair.

"Unholy luck.", Iruka shook his head slightly, hefting Kabuto over his shoulder with a grunt. "I'll tell you on the way. We need to get out of here. You've got point."

"Hnn."

* * *

"The third Hokage assigned you to infiltrate Sound _before_ the attack?" 

"He gave me the assignment during the month break between tests. I was assigned to go in as a defecting Grass-nin after the Chuunin exams were over; which I did, though slightly delayed." Iruka stirred the stew currently cooking over a small, well hidden fire. Kabuto lay on his side across the way, neatly tied in physical ropes in case the paralysis wore off early.

"Naruto was upset when he came back from finding Tsunade-sama and you weren't around."

"I heard rumors while I was in Sound that Tsunade was going to be the fifth Hokage. Orochimaru was, by all reports, pissed. I'm glad that she agreed to come back. Medics are always needed, and she's one of the best."

Sasuke went quiet at that comment, thinking about the blond genin he had left half-dead at the Valley of the End. He'd put his Chidori right through Naruto's chest. He'd been alive when Sasuke left him, but...

"That's how I found you, by the way."

"Tsunade-sama told you?" Sasuke blinked.

"No, by rumors. One of my sources said the Four were going out to get you, and a few days later Kabuto decided to go meet them. I'd gotten the information Konoha needs already, and I wanted Kabuto. That bastard used my father's family's techniques to steal the faces of the Grass-nin when they attacked you during the exam, you know.", Iruka's face had twisted into an unfamiliar shape, anger in his eyes and viciousness in his smile. "And he helped in the attack that killed Sandaime- sama. And after Sandaime-sama ruined Orochimaru's arms, Kabuto was acting as the snake's hands. He was helping the Snake that killed our Hokage, and using some of my mother's techniques to do it."

Sasuke wasn't sure what to say to that, so he used he default reply, "Nnn."

"Now that I've got him, I've decided that I'll give him to Ibiki as a late birthday present." Iruka continued, "My revenge was when he realized that it was me."

"Your revenge?"

"Yes, my revenge.", Iruka laughed, rubbing the back of his head in awkwardness. "Yeah, I know it must sound weird from someone like me, but even I can be vengeful, you know."

"Why do you get to have your vengeance and I don't?", Sasuke demanded, putting down his bowl with a thump.

"Because I didn't let my vengeance destroy me." Iruka shot back, "And I never said that you couldn't pursue your vengeance I did say that you were going about it wrong, but you stalked off and sulked for a week."

"But- You.", he struggled for a moment. "You used me."

"From what you said, you let your vengeance control you, and destroy what you built. You took strength from me, and from Kakashi, and from your team-mates, and you gave nothing back. And so I took your form and used it for my vengeance"

"The fourth rule. Those who take without giving back will be taken from in turn.", Sasuke recited with no inflection. Iruka's five rules. He'd been forced to memorize them, and several other sayings that didn't have numbers but he used a lot. They were mostly stupid things, he'd always thought.

Iruka seemed pleased that he'd placed the reference, "You also violated the second rule: No one belongs only to himself."

Sasuke bestowed his teacher with a glare that spoke volumes, most of it chibi-ranting about how he didn't owe anybody anything. Iruka dug into his bowl of stew with the indifference to others' feelings that only years of teaching pre-teens or habitual public reading of pornography could bestow.

"This is good stew."

"Hnn."

* * *

"Iruka-Sensei?" 

Iruka blinked, stopping on the next branch he reached and adjusting his awkward load. Kabuto was slung head-down over his left shoulder to give his right arm a break. They were nearly home, and Iruka expected to meet a patrol any time now. "Yes?".

"I-", A long pause as Sasuke wrestled with the words, "Thanks."

The smile that lit Iruka's face could have been used to power Konoha for a week. "You're welcome. You always were, you know."

Sasuke took the leap from his branch to Iruka's, careful to not land too close. "I-"

"Hm?"

"Can we go for Sushi when we get back? My treat."

"Of course, and I'll treat."

_I can't... I can! No! If the Idiot can, I can!_ Sasuke steeled himself for the task, but didn't flinch this time. Of course he had more decorum than the Idiot, so he was careful to not knock Iruka-sensei off the branch.

Iruka didn't notice Kabuto's head slamming into the trunk of the tree, he was to busy hugging his wayward student. "Welcome back, Sasuke."

* * *

Author Note: Ok, I thought this was the end, but it demands an epilogue The epilogue shall be from... Naruto's point of view! Because this is a Naruto fanfic, yet he has yet to make an appearance except in memories. 


	10. Epilogue, part 1?

_**--Naruto--**_

Like so many things in my life, it started with a shout.

This one drifted into my hospital room from below the window. It was Ino, calling in that annoyingly high-pitched voice of hers, "Sakura! Naruto! He's back! Sasuke's back! Iruka-sensei brought Sasuke back!"

"That's not funny, Ino!" Sakura yelled, shaking her fist at the blond kunoichi.

"I'm not joking!" Ino shot back.

...bamph...

"She really isn't." another voice cut in. The teleportation smoke cleared to reveal both of Tsunade-baba's chuunin secretaries. The one with the funny nose bandage was the one who was talking. _What was his name again?_

"Really, Kotetsu-san??" Sakura squealed happily.

"What are you waiting around for?" I yelled at Sakura. Sasuke was back, what more did she need to know?

I lunged for the window, but Sakura grabbed my shoulder and shoved me back into the room. "We don't know where he is, you idiot!"

"Oh." I turned back to the two Chuunin, who were smirking at me. I bristled at them. "Where is he?"

"You'll see." Kotetsu nodded to the other guy, who smiled and moved towards the window. "Brace yourselves."

"Huh?"

Teleportation is like 'whoosh' but with your whole body. I'd never done it before, and I gotta say it's really really cool. You should try it sometime.

_**--Sakura--**_

We landed in the Hokage's office, and we weren't the only ones arriving. Izumo-san showed up a second later with Ino, and Kakashi-sensei poofed in right after him. Hokage-sama, Gai-sensei, Shizune, and Morino Ibiki were already there, along with some trussed up unconscious silver-haired guy I couldn't be bothered to identify.

But the main thing was that Sasuke was there, standing with Iruka-sensei in front of the Hokage's desk. His hair was a little rumpled, and his clothes had seen better days, but he never looked better to me. He'd turned to look when we arrived, and he smiled. Not his usual smirk or sarcastic half-smile, but an actual smile. I could see his teeth, and his eyes actually looked happy, if apprehensive.

"Sasuke!" I started forward, but Naruto was quicker.

"Teme!"

_He's going to hit him! Oh my god, he just came back and Naruto is going to drive him away again! No!_ I started to grab for Naruto, and I saw Kakashi-sensei do the same, but we didn't react fast enough.

Iruka-sensei did. He pulled Sasuke against his side and spun simultaneously, placing himself between the punch and the target. He deflected Naruto's fist and braced for the impact of his body, trapping my loud teammate in a one-armed hug before he could resist. "Oi, Naruto!" he smiled as if he hadn't just prevented a bloody brawl.

Of course the idiot wasn't going to be stopped so easily. "Sasuke, you bastard! You make Saukra cry! You idiot! I'll-" he tried to reach around Iruka-sensei to get to Sasuke, who pulled away.

"Naruto!" the shout came from several sources, but none registered to the blond fool, who continued to struggle unsuccessfully against Iruka-sensei's grip.

"Sakura, I'm sorry." I hadn't seen him move, but suddenly Sasuke was standing directly in front of me, his head and eyes downcast. The light glinted off his forehead protector, which I noticed somehow looked older and more worn than his old one.

"Sasuke." For a moment I didn't know what to do. Part of me wanted to hug him, part of me wanted to pummel him. So I compromised.

_**--Kakashi--**_

My heart lifted at the scene unfolding before my eye: the startled look on Sasuke's face as Sakura pulled him into a headlock and scrubbed her fist across his head while cursing him for a fool, Naruto's squawk of protest and attempt to join in, Ino's half-hearted protests, and Gai's crowing about the Resilency of Youth. I knew then that things would work themselves out.

To Sasuke's credit, he took his punishment like a man for a good thirty seconds before trying to wriggle away. When wriggling didn't work he chose a tactic that not even I could have anticipated. By willingly hugging Sakura he managed to stun her, Ino, and Naruto long enough to forestall further violence, buying him time to put plan B into action. Even I could be forgiven for not expecting plan B to include pulling me and Naruto into the first group hug Team Seven had ever experienced.

I recovered quickly, fully expecting to have to put my foot in Gai's face to prevent him from joining us. Instead I just heard him declaiming about how I had finally succumbed to the natural affection between a sensei and his cute students. I later learned that Kotetsu and Izumo had prevented the anticipated Gai-ness, for which I owe them a favor.

Several minutes passed. I sensed the entrance of Asuma and Kurenai, along with their students, including several who had recently been released from the hospital. The Hokage's office was becoming quite crowded with well-wishers. Once the still battered looking Genma and Raidou appeared I was sure a full blown party would break out any moment.

Sometimes having Shinobi ears is a double-edged sword. They eavesdrop when you wish they wouldn't. And so even though I should have been fully engrossed by the reunion of my team, I overheard Ibiki, "With your permission, Hokage-sama, I'll take Kabuto to be questioned." I realized that the silver-haired lump I'd noted upon arrival was in fact Orochimaru's medic minion.

"In a moment, Ibiki. There's something else I have to do first." Tsunade made a brushing off motion with one hand.

"Hokage-sama?"

Our buxom blond leader pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk and rummaged for a moment, then pulled out something I hadn't seen since the last war. The Hokage's Thanks. By all appearances it was a simple forehead protector, unusual only for the white cloth attached to it; to the initiated, its meaning was very clear.

_How did a chuunin school teacher manage to find Sasuke, bring him back, and capture Kabuto at the same time?_ I found myself wondering.

I wasn't the only one to notice the headband. One thing you can always count on Gai for, it's an emotional speech.

_**--Naruto Again--**_

Most of us were happy to see Sasuke returned (except Shino, who looked impassive as always), but no one seemed to agree on how we should celebrate. I suggested that we should go for ramen, but no one listened. I suggested it again, louder, but by then the room was filling up and getting loud. Bushy-brows (Lee) felt that we should organize a training mission to strengthen our ties of friendship, which didn't sound bad, but could certainly wait until after ramen.

Ino and Sakura agreed that a proper dinner was in order, but not ramen. And not with each other also attending. A minor arguement (shoving match) broke out over that, leaving only me and the teme still in Kakashi-sensei's grip. I was torn between wriggling away and staying: Kakashi-sensei's death grip made that decision for me.

A pale and thin Chouji suggested barbecue, but was shot down by his teammates, since he wasn't supposed to be out of bed yet anyway. That stopped Ino and Sakura's arguement, and Sakura glomped the male portion of team seven once again, even including me in her grasp. It felt nice, even if she did glomp onto Sasuke harder.

Kiba declared in his typical loud and annoying way that barbecue would be good, and Akamaru barked his agreement despite his bandages. Shino seemed to agree, if a sudden silence and slight nod were agreement. Hinata might have tried to say something, but Shikamaru was muttering about troublesome barbecue, and I didn't hear it.

Sasuke didn't say or do anything much except bury his head in Kakashi-sensei's side, using his old 'Hnn' response a few times. Some things don't change.

Then Neji showed up, supported by his teammate Tenten. You'd think they were old friends or something, the way Sasuke stood up straight and asked how Neji was. That bastard even looked worried! _Hello? I'm your teammate? The one who got a chidori through the chest?_

Neji made a snarky comment about Sasuke's poor choice of traveling companions giving him trouble, but that he would be fine, thanks. Then he smiled. _What the hell?_ Then Sasuke said something I didn't quite understand about Neji underestimating Iruka-sensei's deviousness. Neji laughed, softly to not strain his bandages, but still, he laughed! _Which is stranger: Neji laughing, or Sasuke being the one to make him laugh? _

They got interrupted by Gai-Sensei. In fact everyone got interrupted by Kakashi-sensei's rival. The great green beast is loud...

**_--Neji--_**

"Iruka-sensei, once again you have proved the power of your youthful heart!"

The loud sound of my teacher's voice interrupted the exchange between myself and my younger rookie counterpart. We shared a look of familiar humor, waiting for the wave of words to abate like the inevitable ebbing of the tide.

"It is a white flame shining into the hearts of your young students, bringing them out of darkness and into the light!" Gai had by then found his stride and his favorite poses, "I salute the strength of your youthful spirit. Lee, Tenten, Neji! Observe the strength of Iruka-sensei's heart, so that you may learn to be as strong as he is."

"Yes, Gai-sensei!" was Lee's expected, typically exuberant response.

"Yeah! Iruka-sensei rocks!" Naruto echoed, and though I felt similarly, I would not have expressed it so crudely.

"Oi, Naruto, Gai-sensei, you're embarrassing me." our academy teacher rubbed the back of his neck, a flush brightening his cheeks. Watching Iruka-sensei go from mission mode to village mode was always enlightening; the visible differences were slight, but the spy's tight control over his face and emotions loosened, relaxing into the more familiar teacher-face.

Tsunade-sama only smiled as she tied a white forehead protector around Iruka's head. The unusual color pricked my memory for several moments before I recalled the meaning. I smiled a little as I remembered. It was appropriate. I joined my elders in a respectful bow, and I was not the the only one of my peers to do so. Several seemed confused, and I waited for the inevitable question.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, why is it white?" Naruto asked in what he probably thought was a whisper.

I activated my Byakugan in time to see the wave of surprise and consternation travel across the room in a series of twitches. Though I hate to admit it, I've always enjoyed such moments. A person is most honest in that moment of transition.

"It's the Hokage's Thanks!" Naruto's pink-haired teammate hissed.

"Huh?"

"Kakashi! It is criminal that you should leave your students in such a state of ignorance!" Gai-sensei reacted before anyone else could speak. "Naruto-kun, Tsunade-sama has chosen to show her approval of Iruka-sensei's great heart with a special white head-band called the Hokage's Thanks-"

"It means that Iruka-sensei has impressed me." The only person with enough authority in her voice to cut off Gai-sensei was Tsunade, and she did it with ease that made me quite envious. "Unfortunately, his mission is _very highly classified_" no one could miss the emphasis, nor the pointed looks she was distributing to the more talkative ninja in the room, "and I can't tell everyone what he did. So the headband will have to do."

Naruto looked stymied, for he'd obviously intended to ask what the very impressive feat had been. Doubtless so he could defy all sense and propriety by attempting to better it. Despite Naruto's growing closeness to Iruka-sensei, it was obvious that he really did not pay attention to our teacher's true strengths.

"And on that note; Shikamaru!" Tsunade's voice snapped with command, "You will lead Team Eight, Team Ten and Team Gai in a simple D-rank mission. Your task is to prevent Team Seven from attacking each other or destroying anything for the duration of the evening. You shall proceed to a restraunt of your collective choosing, where you will all eat. What you do after that is up to you, so long as no one is hurt and nothing is damaged."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Shikamaru pulled himself straighter. Already the gears in his head were visibly turning, as the Genin filed out of the room. I followed my teammates, but not before catching a glimpse of silver as Ibiki picked a familiar, traitorous man off the floor.

_--Author-- _

Aarg! I don't think it properly ends here, but I'm not sure where to go next. Epilogue, part 1? I'm so sad. Suggestions are welcome.

Special thanks to Sei Mong for the Note (Real Life has been killing me lately, but your note reminded me that I actually had a plan for this.) and to Neji, who brutally crushed every attempt to open up Freecell while working on this. I am not sure when I acquired a Neji voice in my head, but he is quite the task master. He is also narrating the prologue of Carbon Copy Ninja, so I hope to actually have that posted sometime this week or early next. (if the overtime doesn't kill me first).


	11. Epilogue, part 2 The End

As Strong As Need Be  
Epilogue, Part 2 

Warm Water, Still Water

* * *

"What will happen now?" Sasuke sank down into the over-sized tub. They were at a public bath not far from Iruka's apartment that the teacher often used. This time of day it was almost completely deserted as not many Shinobi were in the habit of bathing just before dawn, but the pair had been up almost all night working on a new technique to control a certain cursed seal. It had involved an unexpected amount of sweating and a lot of smudged Chakra-ink, so when Iruka had suggested a bath before they collapsed into bed, Sasuke had readily agreed. 

"You'll be living with me for a while longer." Iruka opened his eyes and smiled warmly at his student. "Hopefully, between the information I retrieved from Sound, the old scrolls in the archive, Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-san's knowledge of seals, and whatever information Ibiki can extract from Kabuto, we'll be able to find some way to eliminate the cursed seal on your neck for good."

Sasuke reached up to cover the mark with his hand, an unconscious gesture he'd been using more and more frequently in the past few days. "This one is like a better version of the seal Kakashi used... You put something different on it when you put that Genjutsu on me, didn't you?"

Iruka nodded. "Kakashi's seal was gone when I found you, so I made a replacement. Mine didn't work the same way, but it allowed you to access your chakra without activating the curse, so long as you remained calm." He laughed, "Did you think that huge circle was just for my Henge?"

"I thought it was for that Genjutsu." the obvious bitterness in the comment was at odds with the small wave of water Sasuke sent splashing over his teacher's face.

"Oi! Show your teacher more respect!" Iruka returned the splash, scoring a direct hit on the Uchiha's left eye.

"Hnn!"

What ensued was a water fight of near epic proportions. Iruka's finer chakra control allowed him to send swift streams of water to attack his opponent from unexpected directions, while Sasuke would counter with large waves to both deflect Iruka's attacks and splash him. Water flew everywhere, soaking the walls, floor, and a goodly portion of the ceiling before they reached a draw based more on exhaustion than a definite conclusion.

"That Genjutsu..." Sasuke said softly, catching a drip from the ceiling on his hand absently. "It was like a dream where you think you're in control, but you're not. You made them all die because of me, even Hinata! She won't have anything to do with me. Then you made it all a dream, another one of your damned lessons. I wanted to kill you when I woke up." He looked up and saw the gentle smile on Iruka's face. "You're evil!" Sasuke declared, raising his hand in threat of another splash.

Iruka held up his hands in a blocking and placating gesture, "If it works, is it still evil?"

"Yes!" the threatened splash was partly blocked by the shield of hands, but not all.

"But it worked." Iruka whined through his smile.

"I was unconscious in the middle of your circle! Of course it worked!" Sasuke leaned forward, training and instinct making him reluctant to out-right attack the Chuunin despite his anger.

"That did help, but that's not what I was talking about." Iruka switched to his ultra-reasonable talking-crazed-Jounin-out-of-armory voice. "It weakened your resolve to go to Sound. Which was the point, yes?"

A nose was stuck into the air and turned away, "Hnn." Sasuke felt a tiny prickling of chakra in the water touching his skin, but he didn't sense any water flying at him. Some memory was trying to get his attention, possibly involving turtles? His eyes flew open a moment before a familiar pair of hands sent his head and shoulders under the water. The memory of Iruka-sensei using the water-calming technique to catch fish formed in front of his eyes as he rebounded off the bottom of the hot tub, moving as much sideways as down before his direction reversed. He resurfaced with a splutter, "Iruka-sensei!"

"Ah." a certain brown-haired chuunin reclined innocently in the spot where Sasuke had been sitting.

"What was that for?!" Sasuke lowered his voice to a tone that may have been menacing if he hadn't been crouching naked in a hot tub with water dripping from his messy hair and face, having recently suffered the indignity of being dunked by his target. (1) Some sort of killing intent would have also helped, but the only thing his chakra indicated was a certain confusion.

"My seat." Iruka tucked his arms behind his head and leaned back.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, so he closed it. This happened several more times before he just settled back, setting his neck into the cradle on the edge of the tub with a sigh, his eyes drifting closed.

----------

"You're up early, Iruka-sensei."

"Up very late, actually, Kakashi." Iruka paused and allowed his interceptor to catch up. "On your way to the stone?" he asked casually.

Kakashi was mildly surprised by the question. While his visits to the memorial stone were no secret, few other ninja ever mentioned it, even indirectly. "Yes." He said simply.

"Could you tell Saru-sama that I'll be by later? I've got to put Sasuke to bed and get some sleep myself."

"Uh... Saru-sama?" Kakashi's ever-expressive eyebrow lifted in query and amusement.

"Sandaime, of course." He started to walk slowly towards his apartment, Kakashi following a step or so behind.

"I see." Kakashi's eye would be an upturned V of amusement, Iruka could tell without looking.

"Sarutobi the Monkey(2) summoner. That was my Father's name for him. I've been calling him that since I could talk." Iruka grinned again, "Saru-sama never seemed to mind."

"Mmm." Kakashi agreed. "I'll be sure to tell him. You know, Sasuke can be almost cute when he's unconscious."

"More so than when awake, you mean." Iruka shifted the genin he was carrying slightly, "He was utterly adorable when he first started at the academy. I was still working for Ibiki then, but I spent some time at the Academy as an assistant before the teaching exam. Of course, that was _Before._"

Kakashi could hear the capital letter, but that wasn't what caught his interest, "You worked for Ibiki?"

"For a little while. You should ask him about it(3)."

Kakashi wasn't sure what to make of the smile he received. It was bright and rather sparkling, but there was something about it that brought a familiar uneasiness, like the Third's smile when he was about to inflict things like Genin teams on his hapless Jounin. Kakashi said nothing for a long moment, then replied, "I'll be sure to do that."

"This is my place." the Chuunin started up the stairs of the apartment building, then paused and looked back, "Have a good chat, and a good day, Kakashi."

"Sleep well, Iruka-sensei, Sasuke."

------------------

Notes:

(1) In DnD terms, we call this 'having severe situational modifiers to your intimidate roll'.

(2) "Saru" being the Japanese word for Monkey, of course.

(3) See "Memories of Caffeine"

Sasuke is much more demonstrative around Iruka than with others. This is mainly because Iruka will not hesitate to thwap him upside the head if he pulls to far into his shell.  
"You are a Human! Not a Machine! Say it!"  
Sullenly, "I'm a human, not a machine."

Well, this is the end, the real end. Honest. I'm contemplating a story involving Iruka, Team Seven, Gaara and the 'new Curriculum' that Sand got from Leaf (Referenced from page 9 of chapter 247). However, I plan to work on the other paperwork ninja stories before I start another new multi-part. I needed to finish _Needs Be_ before I could focus properly on Carbon Copy Ninja.

For those who wait with bated breath, CCN part 1: Jounin Stalking is mostly done, but I'm having trouble ending it properly. Lee turned out to be a horrible narrator, so I think that I'll either have to use Neji or Hinata's POV. Any more Shino voice will strain my brain. I think I shall let it be Hinata. She does quiet understatement well.

Later, then.


End file.
